A closer look at human skin has found that it's teeming with viruses, most of which don't target us but infect the microbes that live there.

Almost 95 percent of those skin-dwelling virus communities are unclassified, researchers report in mBio. Those unknown viruses may prune, manipulate, and hide out in the skin’s bacterial communities, which in turn can make the difference between human health and disease. The finding highlights how much scientists still have to learn about the microscopic affairs that steer human welfare.